President Barack Obama has called Donald Trump out for preying on the fears of the working class and claims that Trump is exploiting them in order to boost his campaign.
In an interview with National Public Radio that aired on Monday Obama defended various decisions he has made regarding issues such as his approach to ISIS and gay rights.
Obama claims he has received “legitimate criticism” over a variety of decisions he has made that other political groups, mainly the Republican Party, disagree with.
When discussing the fact that many Republican presidential candidates have promised to undo some of Obama’s changes the President made it clear that he believed those candidates were preying on the public’s fear and anxieties.
Obama refers to the impact of “economic stresses” and the trouble that people, “particularly blue-collar men” are having in the current economy. He states there is “anger, frustration, fear,” and continues to say:
“I think somebody like Mr. Trump is taking advantage of that. That’s what he’s exploiting during the course of his campaign.”
Obama believes that Trump has capitalized the anxiety of working-class white men and is using this to fuel his campaign. Obama himself has struggled to appeal to “white voters who do not have a college education” and received only 36% of their votes when he was re-elected in 2012.
This is the same group that Republican presidential candidates such as Trump seem to be aiming their campaigns at as “Republicans perform particularly well among that group.”
Obama also spoke about how other presidential candidates are speculating over his skin color and religion in order to fuel fear and distrust. He claims that some voters voice doubts over where his “loyalties lie” because he is black.
Obama stated that there are “certain circumstances around being the first African-American president” that may not have affected other Presidents
Regarding Trump’s recent proposal to ban all Muslims from entering America, Obama stated that such ideas “are a blatant appeal to America’s fears” intended to fuel resistance towards an “African-American commander in chief.”
Obama claims he represents the “change that worries” the Republican party and their voters because “somehow I’m different, I’m Muslim, I’m disloyal to the country, etc.”
Image by DonkeyHotey under this Creative Commons License.
